


Modern AU

by blankdblank



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Co-workers, Fluff and Angst, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 20:38:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14723207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blankdblank/pseuds/blankdblank
Summary: How you met Thorin. Your New Neighbor.





	Modern AU

You were rushing out the door of your apartment, heading out to work, hoping to get there early enough to put the finishing touches on a report for a presentation you were forced into giving. When you reached the outer door to the apartment building, which is shaped like a U, your heart nearly stopped as you spotted him moving his things in with the help of five equally muscular attractive men on your way to work.

Throughout his first week you had discovered that he lived across the courtyard from you, your kitchen and living room windows looking straight at each other. He lived with three of the men that had helped him move in, and was the last to leave each morning and he would choose to have his morning coffee completely naked after his morning shower.

…

Your cousins all lived in the apartments around you. Bard and Eomer lived below you and Thranduil and Legolas both live next door to you. Your cousins were all in your apartment having breakfast, as you dropped the freshly brewed coffee you had made for them, barely missing the counter top. you had meant to set it down on, spilling it across the kitchen floor. Eomer rushed to you and lifted you onto the counter as the others turned to see what had made you drop it, their eyes all stopping on the naked man across the courtyard pouring a mug of coffee and drinking it as he watched the small TV on the counter.

All but Bard chuckled and turned back to the kitchen starting to clean up as Bard let out man approving grunt, “Amazing ass. Nice spotting Jaqi.” making the others chuckle again as they threw the dirty towels into the laundry basket in the living room that they were going to wash later that day.

Legolas went into the pantry and pulled out the spare pot you kept there then started brewing the next pot as Eomer set you back down after drying your legs and feet off, chukling again at the blush fading from your cheeks, “I take it that’s the man you mentioned from the other day.”

You nodded as Legolas chimed in, “Well he certainly made an impression, maybe we should handle the coffee if he keeps his windows open every morning.”

You, “One hell of a way to say good morning.”

Thranduil, “Maybe you should strip, give him something to drop his coffee over.” shooting you a wink as Bard was lifting his shirt over his head, “I’ll do it!” All of you turned to him as Thranduil pulled his shirt back down, “Keep your clothes on!”

Bard, “Ahh, you guys are no fun…I might be his type.”

Legolas, “Not every attractive man wants to see you naked.”

Eomer nudged you, “Besides if you aren’t his type you’ll spoil Jaqi’s show every morning.” you rolled your eyes and sat at the table with your back to the window filling your plate and starting to eat as they joined you, Bard choosing the seat opposite you so he could keep watching.

…

The next few mornings your cousins had to work earlier shifts leaving you to the show your neighbor put on, barely able to focus on your meal until you closed the blinds in the kitchen, shoveling the food back and hurried to get ready having wasted nearly half your time you normally took to get ready tracing every muscle you could find on the handsome stranger, making you decide to start waking up and leaving earlier, to avoid him catching you looking, then spotting him heading out of the building as you left in well tailored suits that fit him snuggly, each day alternating the color of his ties and cloth in his jacket pocket with matching socks.

After your shift the day of your decision through a near run in at the supermarket learned that you enjoyed the same snacks with at least one of the men in his apartment, and that he wasn’t at work stayed in his jeans without a shirt when he stays in his apartment. Somehow he had gone through this entire time without noticing your face, just merely a quick glimpse of the same large paint covered hoodie and a large poof of long curly hair poking out from the hood as you passed.

…

You worked in the financial department of a large company, leaving you buried at the bottom of mountains of paperwork, since the last manager had been fired taking nearly a third of the staff with him, your workload had tripled and you found yourself also acting as secretary and also forming presentations and being told to pitch ideas for profit gains until those positions were filled again.

Thankfully the pitchman spot was quickly filled, you had tons of ideas but as for openly sharing them you absolutely despised it, though through your brief time in the position they had made giant gains, leaving upper management to inform you that you would still be offering any ideas you would have with the new manager, convincing him after several minutes that the new hire should be the face for the ideas, happily choosing to stand in their shadow.

…

You were mentally going through your To Do lists you passed through the hallway after exiting the elevator returning from lunch and slammed into the mail tray as you spotted the familiar face introducing himself to the people on the floor, thankfully none of them noticed your painful crash. You quickly knelt down to help pick up the mail that had fallen onto the floor and reorganizing it as you set it back down before smiling at the quiet woman, Tilly, that had been regrettably chosen to fill in for the job that day, barely big enough to move it having to throw all of her weight into it for it to budge, before helping her give the heavy cart a push to get her started as she thanked you barely in a whisper straining for breath while pushing. You adjusted your bag on your shoulder and headed for your office in the back corner of the room spotting the familiar stranger glancing at you as he spoke, pausing briefly then continuing his speech.

…

His first day.

He had recently moved into a new building closer to his new job. He had been transferred to a new building in a different city along with his cousin Dwalin, his two Nephews Fili and Kili were both attending the college nearby and had been kicked out of their dorms for an “accident” involving the main plumbing for the three buildings surrounding the dorm causing a large flood, he had barely managed to keep them out of jail, his Cousins Dwalin and Balin acted as their lawyers and got a payment deal and had forced the boys to work in their firm for a salary to get it paid off quicker also placing them on academic probation so they would have to keep up their grades and attendance and do extra work as well. His two other cousins Bifur and Bofur had helped him move in as well but had to return back home before their girlfriends got home from work.

He wasn’t going to start work for another week so he got comfortable in his new apartment. Getting back into his normal work schedule, waking up, showering then coffee while watching the news then getting dressed, and going shopping when he would normally head for work, then returning and stripping to his jeans and lounging around while reading until he started cooking dinner as his Nephews and Dwalin returned. His head running through his normal routine as he exited the shower, heading for the coffee pot waiting for him, glancing out the windows seeing the sun beaming brightly and reflecting off the windows, he pulled off his towel and dried his hair as he crossed his living room, thinking the sun would block any one from the other side of the courtyard to see him.

Trying to focus on the news as long as he could before getting irritated at the amount of times the news anchor would let out the same forced laughter and smile as he terribly slurred through his monologue before shutting it off, putting his mug in the sink and heading to his room to get dressed, deciding to wear one of his suits to keep up the pattern he wore them in and heading off to the store. Locking his door behind him going down the elevator repeating the shopping list he’d made in his head, heading out the door catching a glimpse of a yellow sundress as the woman turned the corner of the block, pausing wanting to follow her but deciding to keep to his plan hoping to run into her later.

Each day following the same pattern, somehow each time barely missing her but noticing the colors you wore trying to work out a pattern, maybe he could match his to compliment but not copy your pattern exactly. He had never been too popular with women, he was attractive yes, but he was also far too serious for anyones liking, always opinionated and stern with people he didn’t know, people merely labeling him pompous and avoiding him. His mind always searching for patterns and something to work out making his job as a managing accountant perfect to him, numbers had always made him feel more comfortable, people were harder to work with. He had been on three dates which all ended badly, he had attended all boys schools so it wasn’t until he graduated he started dating, between his stale conversational skills with the attractive women that had pursued him who had no interest in anything more than monetary benefits of his job had doomed him into not getting a second date adding to his stern exterior especially around gorgeous women.

Between the mystery woman and the giant paint stained hoodie matching his he kept spotting, he felt an awkward hint of happiness at the new interruptions to his daily patterns, thinking somehow he would work them into his patterns as well and hopefully his life however they would take shape, be it friends, enemies, or merely passing acquaintances.

During his morning cup of coffee on his first day at work he ran through his speech he was going to give, a mix of the speeches he had heard from his managers at his old job as he worked his way up and some new pieces he had found to ring truer to his managing style. Once again he had barely missed the woman, smiling slightly still at the soft shade of pale green on the sundress that flowed around her as she disappeared into the distance, noticing she had vanished in the direction of his new job, a good sign for his hope of knowing her. He entered and spent the morning filling out the paperwork and being given a short tour before breaking for lunch, then he would be able to speak to his new group of employees working with him.

He would be over almost everyone but a short group, and one he had been informed would be working with him very closely, sharing their ideas and assisting him with rebuilding that section of the company, silently dreading the vague description of the person who was described to be a lot like him, imagining them to be his new possible daily rival, but still choosing to try and be optimistic.

He made it home for a quick lunch giving Dwalin a brief recap and getting some encouragement for his new colleague. When he returned he was told that this JaqJaq person who he would be working with was still out on lunch but would be introduced to him when they returned and he could go ahead and speak to his new workers.

He was halfway through his speech when he spotted it, a quick flash of pale green. He turned his head and looked her over, noting the dark hair and the way the dress flowed around her along with the tall high heel shoes that still barely raised her to his shoulder, noting the way she walked, entirely on her toes slightly bouncing between steps, her heels never touching the ground as her body swayed between movements, from the waist up it almost looked like she was floating across the ground. Her hair tied up in a braided bun with her bangs hanging down the left side of her face in tight thick black curls that bounced around her cheek as she moved. His speech paused as he caught a glimpse of her bright purple eyes contrasting her thick black smoothly shaped eyebrows and her almost doll like face before she quickly looked away. His mind snapping back to his speech as she disappeared behind a cubicle. Getting caught up in instructing his new workers through the new policies he was enforcing and completely forgetting about meeting his so called new managing partner, but as he left he caught the quick flash of pale green again and quickly followed.

…

The rest of the day going rather quietly until hearing a loud thunder crash before several lightning flashes through the floor, not noticing the shift in weather due to the large stacks of papers blocking your view, then hearing the upper level manager informing the floor that due to the weather the elevators were not to be used as a precaution, not anything bad, until you remembered you had worn a new pair of heels that day and that you worked on the 15th floor, the thought alone making your feet start to throb.

Through your shift you had cleared five of the stacks on your desk out of the ten, grabbing your bag and heading for the staircase, noticing that you were one of he last three people yet again, not spotting the stranger as you left. Making it down three floors before hearing what had to be a man leaving your floor and cussing quietly as he started to go down the stairs behind you, letting out quiet huffs over the sound of his dress shoes tapping against the stairs and the pouring rain outside echoing through the stairwell.

You had managed the next 5 flights before you heard someone else enter the stairs between you and the man, quickly running down the stairs, gaining on you until they had slammed into your shoulder mid step as he ran by you causing you to land flat on your bottom on the hard stairs, hearing the stranger behind you call out after hearing you squeak involuntarily in pain, “Are you alright?” before running down to help you up. You had forced yourself to your feet, fixed your dress, taking a few deep breaths, sure that you would be bruised heavily in the morning, before turning to continue down the stairs as he reached you placing his hand on your shoulder, breathlessly asking, “Are you alright?”

You give a small nod recognizing your new neighbor giving him a small smile, “The stairs caught me, I’m fine, thank you.” Before turning back to the stairs as he quietly followed beside you, catching his breath at your slower pace, glancing at you every few minutes to make sure you wouldn’t fall again until you reached the ground floor both stepping back as a bright flash of lightning went across the sky showing through the large glass windows covering the ground floor.

You dreaded those windows as you left each day, you never liked open windows at night ever since your childhood, just were never comfortable with them, a feeling that your stranger shared, quite unknowingly to you.

You pulled your umbrella from your bag, he glanced back down at you again as you opened it in the entrance holding it high enough for both of you, making his face twist curiously, “You haven’t even asked where I am headed yet.”

You look back up at him, “You just moved into my apartment building.” giving him a quick smile.

His eyebrows raise as his mouth dropped open slightly before letting out in a whisper, “Oh…” taking a hesitant step after you started walking again then matching your stride again.

The short walk home was mostly silent except for the rain, a few passing cars and the distant sound of an argument in one of the apartments above a small shop along the way. Both quietly entering the building before you turned closing your umbrella and shook it off, placing it back in the small bag so it wouldn’t drip through the building, looking up to see he had turned and stayed to watch you, smiling quickly at you before his face went stern again, partly to make sure you were safe, the rest of him wanting to know which apartment was yours. You gave another shy smile and headed past him for the stairs choosing not to use the elevator, unwilling to test your luck.

He quietly followed you up the stairs ready to catch you should you fall again, catching a glimpse of the bottom of the mid thigh length yoga pants you wore under your dresses to work trying not to chuckle at the ducks and bubbles covering them as your dress bounced around you as you climbed the stairs, then his eyes roaming to your fingers gently slid along the railing as you bounced up the stairs with nearly perfect posture, nearly on your toes in your high heels somehow managing not to get winded, as his eyes wandered back to your legs watching your muscles flex as you climbed. As his body was leaned forward slightly gripping the rail to keep balance while his thighs and chest burned as he tried to keep up with you without gasping for air, shocked to see that you had stopped at his floor.

You turned and gave a small wave not waiting for one in return, heading to the right as he was meant to turn left, stopping to watch you admiring your bouncing swaying stride until you rounded the corner, silently stammering to himself in his failed attempt to introduce himself before heading to his own place.

Closing the door behind him, quickly pulling out of his suit before glancing out his living room window and spotting you through the rain removing your shoes and unzipping your dress as you pulled that same large hoodie he had been seeing since he moved in, a smile slid across his face watching as you pulled your dress of from under it the starting to untwist your black hair from its tight braided bun as the lights went out stopping his show until he saw a match lit followed by the soft glow of an old oil lamp near the sofa catching the reflection from your eyes before you pulled out a book and curled up to read as he finally found a light of his own and kept undressing within view then pulling on his jeans and finding something to eat then relaxing in the dark until you went to bed.

…

You woke the next morning earlier than normal and getting ready, catching a glimpse of the bruises stretching cross the bottom of your butt cheeks, touching them gently feeling the pulsing pain coming from them. Then pulling on a deep maroon dress with long sleeves which were folded up to the elbow, which cut low on your cleavage but you covered that with a small black vest with bright gold buttons that went up to your collarbone, pairing it with thick black knee length socks and your favorite tall black wedge booties before pulling your hair up into the same bun as always.

You made your way to work once again catching a glimpse of the stranger stepping out of the elevator with the same stern expression on his face which honed in on you whenever he spotted you, before you rounded the corner outside the door and weaved your way through the people along the sidewalks until you arrived at work. You headed straight to your desk happy to see that Tilly was back at her desk and Greg the intern was saddled with the heavy cart, heading once again to your desk hearing the faint ding behind you of the elevator and the hurried footsteps of the stranger trying to catch up with you fading as you had crossed the room and entered the small office you shared with four others who had yet to arrive. Groaning as you saw your desk, dropping your bag in your chair and deciding to stand for the day, rearranging he stacks on your desk to make it easier on you.

…

He let out a quiet groan as yet again she had slipped away, but at least he knew she worked on that floor, silently making his way to his office, noticing the same small woman who he had pulled off of the mail cart yesterday back happily at her desk giving him a small wave shooting her a small nod as he passed. Opening his door, stepping through and closing it behind him before rubbing his forehead as he dropped his bag on his desk, turning around and leaning against his desk, crossing his arms and seeing his workers walking in then glancing around the room. Spotting the small office in the opposite corner of the room which he was told was where his new colleague worked rolling his shoulders as he felt the same prickling of his skin crawling at the thought of his possible new enemy, letting out another small groan, pulling himself from against his desk, as his secretary Arwen entered, “Good Morning Mr Durin! Anything I can get you?”

Thorin, “Would you let me know when this JaqJaq person arrives, we were supposed to meet yesterday but I got distracted.”

Arwen, “Oh JaqJaq arrived a few minutes before you did. Should be in the Office in the corner over there.” turning and pointing at the office he had been looking at before.

He gave a small nod and quick smile, “Thank You. Might as well get this over with.” before walking through the door she was holding open and headed for the office.

Giving small nods and hearing empty “Good Mornings” directed at him and returning them as he made his way to the office, his face growing slightly sterner as he spotted the woman from yesterday, his face growing softer as he ran his eyes over her admiring her outfit as she held open a folder against a notebook and leaned her back against the wall as she scribbled across the page. Glancing through the glass running up the top half of the dividing walls that encased office noticing she was alone then his eyes ran across the nameplate on her desk, his mouth dropping as he read, “Jaqiearae Pear.” his new colleague was his mystery woman and new neighbor. Taking in a deep breath as he knocked on the wooden frame of the glass door hearing you call out without looking up, “It’s Open.” as you turned the page in your folder.

He opened the door, stepping in and walking to a few feet before your desk and smiling, “Good Morning Neighbor.” You look up and shoot him a small smile as you pulled yourself off the wall and set the folder you were reading down on the desk as he reached out his hand to you which you reach out and shake, his eyes dropping down to notice the difference of size in your hands, “Thorin Durin, We were supposed to be introduced yesterday, though I got a bit distracted, I apologize for that.” His eyes sparkling as he caught the smell of green apples floating around you.

You chuckle softly and smile at him, “Jaqi Pear. It’s not a problem, I got a bit distracted myself.” gently pulling your hand free and waving it at the stacks on your desk which he eyed carefully before looking back up at you.

“Are you feeling alright, after your fall yesterday, I mean…” his eyes dropping to his feet quickly, trying to reign his feelings back in to remain calm with you, before shooting back up to yours.

You chuckle again as you notice his face going stern again, “Got a bad bruise, but I’ll live.”

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse, and I look forward to working with you in the future.” walking closer to examine the folder you had left open and turned it to examine it closer, “What are all these, I didn’t think you’d be left to sorting through old finance files… are all these more of the records?” flipping open the top folder on the top of each pile.

You reach out and tap each pile telling him what is what and informing him that with the old managers leaving you were told to do an internal audit, which you were nearly a third of the way through, on top of your work with him, “Don’t worry it won’t interfere with me being able to work with you, just call out if you need help with anything. Arwen is always the first to loop me in on anything.”

His eyes popping back up to yours shooting you a smirk, “My secretary loops you in on everything?”

You chuckle, “I used to have your job, for a very long time it seemed, old habits die hard, and besides we became good friends when we worked together.”

He nodded, “If this is too much for you I can find someone else to do this if you like.”

“I’m fine, I’ve managed to crack the code it seems to have in it, putting anyone else on it now would be three steps back. It won’t be a problem, I promise you.”

His stern face fading into a softer smile, his eyes twinkling at you as he nods again making your heart skip quicker, “Well, anyway there is still some work left from yesterday, you seem to be getting along with this quickly, and It will take a few more days to get everyone on the same page. So we may not be working together very much over the next few days, which should give you more than enough time to handle these.” tapping a stack before turning around and heading to the door, “Let me know if you need anything.” shooting you another smile as he closed the door behind him, turning and heading back to his office.

You lifted your folder and pen again before leaning back against the wall and let out a few deep breaths as you watched his head bob over the top of the cubicles between your offices until it disappeared and he got to work. Finally calming down again enough to focus again on your work, barely looking up to welcome the workers who shared your office, greeting them quietly. Shorty after this, removing your shoes and stretching your feet and legs before leaning against the wall again, catching Thorin’s attention over the cubicles until he got pulled back to focusing on the task at hand, until the alarm on your phone and your growling stomach you let out a deep breath as you set down your finished folder of files onto the out pile, having gone through another stack that morning and recapping your pen and dropping it onto the next stack, pulling your shoes back on and grabbing your bag before heading home for lunch.

Thorin spotted you and quickly called for lunch and slipped next to you as you entered to elevator, smiling at you, “Making good progress?”

You push your hair behind your ear and gaze up at him, “One down, five to go.”

“Impressive…” waiting until the three others in the elevator get off on the next floor leaving you two alone, “Some of the people on our floor can barely fill out the simplest of forms let alone wade through mountains of financial records, that were coded.”

You chuckle again, “They’ll get better, the old manager barely taught them the basics, focused entirely on the computer programs and charts and let all the hard copies slide years behind. I’ve always been good at cracking codes and wading through the monotony.”

He chuckled softly and smiled again, “Finally someone who gets it. I’m sure we will work together very well.”

You shoot him a smile as the doors open to the ground floor and you step out and start to head home as he followed quietly behind you, he would have walked beside you had the sidewalk not been so crowded but he happily joined your side as you entered the apartment building and went into the elevator, quietly riding it until the doors opened and he quietly told you, “Have a nice lunch.”

“You too, see you after, I suppose.”

He nodded as you turned away, smiling at you still turning back to his apartment for lunch, informing Dwalin about you leading to him roaring in laughter that his cousin was already starting to like you and trying to fight off his assumptions that he was already falling for you, true, but still he didn’t want to admit it yet, not even to himself. You returned to the elevator to see him turn and smile at you again as the doors opened and he stepped inside it next to you, “Have a nice lunch?”

He nodded and looked at you, “Yes I did, you?”

“Yep.” The sidewalk being far less crowded allowing him to walk next to you the entire way, his heart skipping as he felt the fabric of your dress brush against his fingers as you stepped closer to him to avoid a bicyclist passing you, resisting the urge to jerk you back closer to him. Catching the scent of pine needles coming off of him as you stepped closer to you, admiring his coat imagining it to be soft, wanting to touch it to test the theory but stopping yourself and stepping back out to your former distance quickly going back to your offices, spending the rest of the day pouring through the next stack and finishing it nearly twenty minutes after the end of your shift catching Thorin’s head making its way back to your office through the maze of cubicles.

He knocked lightly and entered as you dropped the last folder onto the file as you rubbed the back of your neck, “Finished?”

You glance up at him and smile as you start repacking your bag, “Finished another stack.” Making him smile and step to the side as you walked through the door and you both headed home quietly. Both saying, “See you tomorrow.” as you parted ways for the night. He quickened his pace and headed inside to catch you greet a tall blonde man inside your apartment with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, causing him to let out a loud groan as he leaned back against the door and rubbed his face after dropping his bag. Fill and Kill both pop out of their rooms.

Fili, “You alright uncle?”

Thorin, “Not really, but I’ll get over it.”

Kili, “Is it that JaqJaq guy?”

Fili, “Ya that must be it, how big of a douche is he?”

Thorin, “She…Is wonderful.” as he turned to his room jerking off his tie and removing his jacket, changing into his jeans and lying across his bed face down for a few moments and groaning into his pillow as his nephews peeked through the door, and whispered to each other.

Fili, “I think he likes her.”

Kili, “Definitely.”

Dwalin joins their trio after getting out of a shower with a towel wrapped around him, “Whats this now?”

Kili, “Uncle says JaqJaq is a woman.”

Fili, “He said she’s wonderful then came in and did this.”

Dwalin gave a chuckle, “Oh he’s got it bad…Maybe he found out she’s taken.”

Fili/Kili, “Easily Mended.”

Dwalin rubbed their heads, “Don’t interfere, we barely got you off last time you tried to help someone.” before turning to change and the boys went to start on dinner.

…

You slipped into your apartment with Eomer sitting on the arm of your couch, smiling up at you waiting to wrap you into a tight hug and give you a peck on the cheek, “Hey Eomer.”

“Hello Sweetheart. How did it go?”

“The Naked man is my new co worker.” he let out a bark of laughter before throwing his head back wiping his face before looking back at you, “That is priceless. I made dinner, fill me in.”

You, “He’s nice, he seems to want to be friendly, he walked me back from lunch both ways then waited to walk me home after work. He also asked me about my fall, if I got hurt, said if I needed anything at work to let him know.” pulling another cushion onto your chair as he set a full bowl of lasagna down in front of you telling you to dig in as he added garlic bread to the table, filling him in on the details before he kissed you on the cheek and left for his night shift and you quickly washed the dishes and put away the leftovers and changed for bed, catching a glimpse of Thorin sprawled shirtless across his couch somewhat irrtitated as you put out the light, drawing his attention from the distance and taking note of the time, telling himself they must be tired, groaning quietly again.

He laid there for nearly another hour until he spotted your lights pop back on, sitting up as he saw you enter the room in a long tank top and a pair of shorts with your hair braided back, rolling your shoulders as you grab something off the table by the door. As you opened the door two men fell through it, one of them a brunette and another was a blonde, at the distance he assumed it was the same man, they quickly climbed back onto their feet, staggering slightly as they turned to you as you held out what seemed to be keys, both of them kissing you on the cheek before the brunette grabs his coat off the ground, catches the blonde by the belt, wrapped his hand trough his hair and pulled him in for a passionate kiss as he dragged him out through the door as you closed it behind you. You closed your eyes groaning and leaned against the door fighting to stay upright, opening your eyes and noticing Thorin watching you, you wave causing him to wave in return then raising two fingers to your eyes then pointing down, confusing him making him move closer to the window then noticing the lights turn on in the apartment below you and seeing the blonde man being thrown onto his back on the ground with the brunette on top kissing him until he climbs up to shut the blinds, Bard spotting Thorin and removing his shirt and waving before shutting his blinds, he glanced back up to see you waving again as you turned out the light. He finally let out a deep breath and a quiet chuckle, relieved and once again finding himself hopeful that you were single, and confused as to why you had kept their keys, maybe to keep them from drinking and to make sure they came home safely, he finally headed for bed and decided to call it a night telling himself he’d ask tomorrow.

He had finally gotten to the elevator early enough to catch you in the elevator, but only because he woke up early and caught you off guard with his early morning show, you still didn’t understand how he wouldn’t think you could see, and that it might make it uncomfortable for you at least a bit even though he was gorgeous. He beamed brightly as you slid into the elevator beside him, admiring your peach dress with black buttons down the top, fighting back your blush and laughter, “Enjoy the show?”

He gave a short laugh, “It was certainly something.”

You, “My cousin has quite a crush on you.”

“Which one was your cousin?”

“The Brunette.”

“You always have dinner with your cousins dates before he brings them back to your place?”

You giggled for a few moments before you stopped yourself, “My cousin Eomer made me dinner before his shift at work, he left me, Bard, the brunette’s keys, they live downstairs together with my 2 other cousins, Bard dropped by later for them. He’s always loosing things when he goes drinking, better if I keep them.”

He nods and smiles at you again following you as you walk through the open elevator doors, “Sounds like a good plan, why don’t they stay with you upstairs?”

“They all have…..they like to keep their hookups downstairs, sometimes they’re going to be loud or want privacy they crash with me, but we have almost all the food upstairs so we all have meals together when we can. Their way of keeping me uncorrupted I suppose.”

“I live with my Nephews and my cousin Dwalin. Im lucky if I can get them to keep their dates out of my bed.” making both of you laugh, “How is keeping you from their hookups keeping you uncorrupted exactly?”

“I don’t date.”

“Oh…why?…if you don’t mind my asking.”

“I’m…I’ve been told I’m intense…I don’t really get asked out. So they group around me to keep bad influences away from me.”

He chuckles and pulls you closer to him to avoid the path of another bicyclist before releasing you, “What bad influences are those?”

You chuckle nervously, “Men who hook up. Mostly.” Catching his eye as he opened the door to work, passing him and continuing to the elevator as he followed you closely behind smirking.

Whispering to you, “Yet another thing we have in common.”

Whispering in return, “Cousins who shield us from men?”

He chuckled quietly, “No.” leaning in closer to you so only you can hear, “Neither of us hook up.” making our heart skip again forcing your face to remain still not wanting to give him the satisfaction as he walked through the open elevator door leaving you to follow behind this time, trying to remember to breathe as you watched his body moving as he walked, the memory of his naked body flashing through your mind. He glanced back as he turned to his office spotting you helping Tilly re stack the books she was carrying so they wouldn’t fall out of her grip before continuing to your office. A smug grin running across his face as the fact you were single had been established and he could continue his plan to win you over, hoping this time it would last.

…

You had spent the day both scouring over mounds of papers as he waded through the reports his workers had filed and continued to teach them the basics of the job, doing his best not to start shouting. Taking lunch separately today as he was stuck in the middle of a lecture to two of his workers who were still doing it wrong and refusing to learn. Finally looking up to notice your empty office and groaned as he saw you were gone already before returning to his lecture then slipping out to lunch himself.

The end of that shift and over the next few days you kept barely missing each other, leading to Thorin nearly having a panic attack as his normal pattern was thrown off and he couldn’t figure out why you were missing each other, but the idea popped in his head that he might have scared you away with his hook up comment. He could barely sleep anymore so on the fourth day as his shift ended he leaned against the wall of the elevator with his eyes closed not hearing you join him. You smiled at him then noticed his eyes were closed and let out a quiet snore, and he started to slide down the wall, leading you to lunge forward and in your attempt to catch him you ended up slamming him against the wall, making his eyes shoot open.

You give a nervous chuckled release him, “I didn’t mean to do it that hard, you were sliding down the wall. I guess I pushed when I should have grabbed…you.” you paused as his face twisted into a large smile before he started laughing and straightened his shirt again before picking up his bag again.

“Thank you. Don’t worry about it. How’s your progress getting?”

“Two more stacks left. The coding has gotten harder on the last one.”

He nods again his eyes sparking brightly, “At least it’s almost over. Have you been really busy lately? I haven’t seen you very much.”

You shake your head, “No, just had to do some work in my bathroom, something about my water pressure was off, my cousin got it fixed though.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t something I had said.”

“This about the hook up thing?”

“Thought I might have crossed a line for you.”

“If you had I’d let you know.”

“Good to know.”

…

The next morning Thorin had to speak to his Nephews teacher before work, mentally complaining that he didn’t get to share his walk to work with you. He made his way through the city as he spotted someone from the corner of his eye, turning his head to the left and getting caught in a paint powder fight , the group running away as they spotted his large scowl, and without enough time to go home and change or bathe looking like a giant pastel rainbow he had to head for work mentally cursing everyone involved along the way, drawing curious gazes along the way.

Hesitating as he entered the elevator at work until he turned and spotted you covered head to toe in green and silver glitter, having been glitter bombed along your path, a new college prank going around town each new frat pledges having to either paint bomb or glitter bomb at least three people a day and not allowed to do the same person twice. With a scowl matching his, you slipped inside, staring at the ground before you until you smelled pine needles and you glanced over at him for a moment until you burst into laughter, finally stopping as you pulled out your phone, “I have to take a picture of this.” Walking to his side facing the black reflective wall as he wrapped his arm around you, both of you smiling as you snapped the picture, looking equally ridiculous. “You want a copy?” He nodded and you handed him your phone to punch in his number and texted the picture to him. He did his best to hide his beaming smile, at least through this terrible morning, he got you`r number.

Breaking from his thoughts as you spoke, “And they say accountants are boring. We at least put the fun in finance.”

Thorin laughed again, “Mind if I use that in my meeting?”

You, “Of course, I am supposed to be sharing my ideas with you after all.”

He beamed as you headed for your office in the back trailing glitter behind you. He turned to se the group of workers staring at the two of you. Tilly walking over to him and gently trying to brush off his sleeve but not succeeding in cleaning it, “I see the frats have claimed two new victims.”

Thorin, “Frats?”

Greg the intern jumped in the conversation snapping a picture of him on his phone earning a glare from Thorin, “The fraternities, Alphas do glitter and Betas do paint powder, more people you hit better your chances are at joining. Been all over the news.”

Thorin grumbled, “The news with the drunk laughing man?”

Greg, “Yup.”

Thorin, “I can barely stand him past the weather.”

Tilly glanced back towards your office, “Poor Jaqi, I’m gonna see if I can help her with the glitter. It’ll take her weeks to get it all out of her hair.”

Greg laughed and shouted, “Careful with the glitter, it’s contagious.” making Thorin roll his eyes and head for his office to set his things down before heading for his meeting.

It didn’t start out as well as he had hoped but after throwing in your phrase it had gone much better, convincing them to use his ideas before the meeting ended. He headed back for his office when he stopped in on your office. Knocking gently before he opened the door leaning against the frame smiling at the pool of glitter covering your desk and the ground around it as you pulled yourself off of the wall behind your desk setting down your folder as you noticed him.

Thorin, “Thank you for your line. It went over well, they bought it.”

“Congratulations.”

“Heading for lunch?”

You glanced down at the clock on your desk realizing what time it was, “Oh right. Thank you for reminding me.” picking up your bag and joining him for the walk home. Halfway there you started to undo your braided bun making him smile as you shook your fingers through it causing the glitter to pour out of your curls as you let out a groan, “It’s going to take months to get it all out,,,” the crowd around you turning to catch a glimpse of the newest targets and spotting another man across the street covered in yellow paint powder and another two with glitter going by on their bikes as you entered your building.

You both made your way to your apartments quickly and showered as well as you could scrubbing everything you could off of you before shoveling back some food quickly as you ate. He quickly slipped his head out to the living room to check your windows, seeing that he could clearly see into your apartment so he had to get dressed before he could eat. Taking one last bite as he spotted you heading for your door, grabbing his coat, tie and bag as her ran to the door of the elevator that you were holding for him. You grabbed his bag so he could finish dressing, shooting you another smile as he straightened his tie and grabbed his bag from you. Running his eyes over your new layered white sleeveless sundress that started at the base of your neck, with pale purple flowers across it with a thick leather belt around your middle and your pale purple high heels, happy that his guess of dark purple tie and pocket handkerchief went well with your outfit. Noticing the scent of green apples wafting from you and the pine scent coming from him.

Thorin, “Looks like you got all of it.”

You giggled, “Not likely it was still flying out of my hair as I blow dried it. At least you. got yours.. Though I think the yellow made your eyes pop.” giggling as the doors opened and you both headed back to work, both earning compliments on how well you had cleaned up after.

After work was over Arwen had brought you and Thorin pies from home on lunch after seeing you had gotten covered in glitter. After work you both take them home, you slipped into your apartment elevator giving your pie a curious sniff smelling the bananas she had used in them, Thorin glanced over at you and chuckled, “Don’t like banana creme pie?”

“I’m allergic to bananas. I’ll give it to my cousins I guess.”

His face dropped as he glanced at the pie he couldn’t enjoy now, “Oh…What else are you allergic to?”

“Nuts and mushrooms.”

“I’ll remember that.” You both split up and went to your apartments and he watched as you crawled out your window down the fire escape to the floor below and tapped on the window, Bard happily hugged you after he opened his window. Glancing at the pie you had brought, accepting it as his boyfriend showed up to the window naked grabbing the pie and dragging bard back to the bedroom after kissing you on the cheek and shutting the window. Thorin chuckled as he watched you climb back through your window and slip into your window and slipped back into a tank top and a pair of knee length sweats.

Thorin left the pie out for his nephews and glanced through some papers for work, he snapped out of his thoughts as a party broke out from two floors below, blaring loud music through the building. He glanced out his window to see you dancing to the music as you folded your laundry your cousins had washed for you the day before, making him chuckle as he watched you. You spotted him as he watched you and you grabbed your phone and texted him, “You don’t dance?”

Thorin turned to pick up his phone and smiled as he saw your picture pop up, reading your message, “Not alone.”

“Oh, no fun. You’re missing out.” He chuckled and went back to his stack of papers and you finished your laundry and went to put it away, glancing up at Thorin again before you started on dinner. You were halfway through cooking the sauce for spaghetti and heard your phone go off again, puling it out of your pocket spotting Thorin’s picture pop up and smiled as you read his message, “You’re eating alone?” glancing over to see his Nephews and his cousin all fighting over the pie as he tried his best to keep them away from his papers. you giggled and replied, “My cousins are working. They’ll be off in a few hours.”

Then he got dragged into their wrestling match making you laugh even more as they all jumped on top of him ending your conversation for the night.

…

The next day you silently walk in Thorins office to see him writing numbers on a dry erase board trying to figure out the problems in accounting. His face in a tight scowl as he stared at the board trying to work out the problem, you step to his side slipping the marker out of his hand making him jump at your sudden appearance and change three decimals to commas, two 5s to 3s and five 4s to 7s, then handing him the revised printouts, you had finished the day before, that he had sent Arwen after, telling him.

He rubbed his neck as he glanced over the papers you had given him, “These make more sense.”

You, “The last woman in charge of the accounts strongly believed that commas and decimals were the same thing.”

Thorin’s face twisted into a smile, “How did she get the job then?”

You raised your hands to do air quotes, “She worked ‘flexible’ hours.”

Making him chuckle before replying, “Ahh.. that explains it. Thank you for these.” You reached the door as he called out to you again, “Oh how is your paperwork going?”

You turn and lean against the doorway, “I finished it this morning. That was one of the last ones in the stack, I’m heading upstairs with my report now.” lifting up another stack of folders. He smiled up at you as you turned and headed for the elevator.

After you filed your paperwork you were cornered in the elevator by Arwen and Tilly who had just found the “Perfect” man for you and had already set you up on a blind date and wouldn’t take no for an answer, giving you the details and telling you to meet him for lunch tomorrow.

Near the end of the shift, you and Thorin are the only ones still there, there is a construction crew fixing some of the lights, as you are headed out for the night, digging through your bag, one of them almost falls and hits you, Thorin reached out, picks you up and holds you out of the way glaring at the men telling them to be more careful still holding you. You gently tap him on the shoulder, “I think I’m safe now, you can put me down.”

Thorin, “Oh…right…” he sets you down and helps you straighten your dress, his hand grazes your bottom, he drew his hand back, “Sorry…”

You give him a small smile, “Don’t worry about it.” the construction guys apologized to you again as you turned to leave, Thorin turned, grabbing his bag and following you.

…

The next day was your day off and you had gotten ready, choosing to wear your deep green knee length dress that cut just below your collar bone and buttoned down the front with sleeves that stopped at your elbow with a black belt around your waist with your tall black booties and knee high stockings. pulling the top half of your hair back into a braid and left the rest to hang loosely as you grabbed your bag and groaned again heading out the door. Hoping the bad luck from your dress would keep you from having to deal with this mystery man for too long.

The last time you had worn the dress you were glitter bombed and the two times before it you had nearly been mugged and nearly hit by a drunk taxi driver in that order, leaving you to believe it was the dress, though it still was your favorite dress and felt wonderful against you, you hoped one day that your dress would bring you some luck,

You got into your cab and headed for the restaurant. For some reason they had picked the most expensive one in town. You went inside and told them Arwen’s name which she stored the reservation under being told that he had not arrived yet, but they said you could wait at the bar. Okay, you told yourself, you had arrived ten minutes early, there had been some traffic. You ordered a Cranberry vodka and nursed it. The bartender offered you an appetizer menu after you had been there for nearly a half hour, each item on the menu was ten dollars and up, so you ordered some bruschetta as you waited. After nearly an hour you ordered a cranberry juice and one of the small cake shooters trying to avoid the glances of the men around you including the pity glances of the waiters roaming through the restaurant.

…

Thorin had found himself called into work on his day off. Pulling on one of his best suits as he was needed to schmooze with some new clients and make a good impression while trying to sell them on his new ideas. he had offered in his last meeting.

They met him in one of the best restraints in town, giving his name at the desk and being showed to the table. They all sat down and quickly got to business. He had been struggling to click with these men, they had always been damn near impossible to sell any idea to from your company. The only one who had been successful was you, but Thorin had found himself in a close second place.

After about an hour he had excused himself to the bar to get a refill, walking up to the bar as he spotted you from the corner of his eye, slowly sucking the chocolate sauce off of a spoon from your small cake shooter, a large smile running across his face as he walked over to you as you finished the last of your drink. He leaned his arm against the bar next to you, “Come here often?”

You turn to him and brush your hair out of your face, “First time.”

His face turned into a half begging one, “Are you busy?”

You pushed your empty cake glass away and turned to him resting your elbow on the bar, “Not in the least.”

His smile grew, “Could you help me? Im supposed to be selling this group of men on our new ideas and…Its not doing so well.”

He put down a bill as the bartender brought his refill, you grab your bag off of your lap, “Sure. Where are they?” as you opened your bag for your wallet he placed down a few more bills and told the bartender, “For her meal and drinks. Keep the change.” turning to you, “It’s on me, don’t worry about it.”

You climb off your chair and follow him as he grabbed his drink and led you back to his table, getting a good look at you before he turned. The group all looked up and saw you as you got closer to the table. The two brothers stood and greeted you, “Jaqi.” they both stepped over to you and kissed you on the cheeks. You stepped back, Faramir, Boromir, how have you been? You never said you were in town.” turning to look at their father, shaking his hand briefly, “Denethor.” and turning to the last man, “Aragorn.” who also stepped over and kissed you on the cheek before they offered you the empty spot on the circular booth next to Thorin. You sat down and crossed your left leg over your right with your leg barely resting against Thorins who had stretched his am out on the booth behind you, watching all of you curiously.

You glanced back at Thorin as Faramir answered, “We have a flight back in three hours.”

Boromir chuckled, “I see you called out for the big guns on this deal Mr Durin.” as he winked at you, making you chuckle quietly.

Denethor, “Your ideas did ring a little too close to home.” making Thorin raise an eyebrow as he took a sip from his drink.

Aragorn took a drink and waved his hand out at you, “Well I suppose its your turn to make the pitch.” chuckling as he took another sip.

After nearly ten minutes you had managed to get everyone to agree on the terms much to Thorins surprise, though every idea you had brought up were similar to his but far more detailed finding several points that he had missed out on, noticing why they hadn’t chosen his choices outright and what they meant as you went after their arguments ruthlessly, breaking down every argument. His affection for you growing by the moment, loving this new side of you, seeing why his bosses had forced him to share his job with you, but still unsure why you wouldn’t just keep it for yourself.

The group squarely admitted defeat and sealed the deal with a handshake as Aragorn texted you a confirmation of terms after he sent the terms to his coworkers to work out the details of the contract. All of you standing, the brothers and Aragorn each kissing your cheeks again as they said their goodbyes before turning to Thorin, Denethor giving you a small nod before he turns to Thorin, you sat back down as the others turned away and made room for Thorin who chuckled as he slid down next to you, “I take it you’ve dealt with them before?”

You let out a giggle, “Faramir married Eowyn, my cousin Eomer’s sister, and Aragorn is dating Arwen.”

His eyebrows raised as he took another sip fighting back a laugh, “Really. She never mentioned it.”

“They haven’t been together long, I set them up last time they were in town. They’re getting along well. Just made her think she needs to find me someone equally as wonderful.”

He chuckled softly, “Really… Well I am certainly fortunate that you happened to be here.”

“She’s actually the reason I’m here.”

“Really?”

“It was supposed to be sort of a date. She set me up, I was supposed to meet him here.”

His face dropped, “Im sorry, If I had know I wouldn’t have pulled you away.”

You waved your hand, “Not a problem, he never showed, you saved me from the stares of pity from the waiters as I left alone.”

His mouth opened slightly, “You’re joking. He stood you up? In that dress?”

You nodded, “Another lovely addition to my lackluster dating life.”

Thorin finished his drink and threw some money down on the table, “Do you like King Kong?”

Your face twisted into a curious smile, “Yes.”

“They re released it in theaters for the anniversary, want to go see it?”

“I suppose, why?”

“I can’t in good conscience let your day end like this, especially in a gorgeous dress like that.” as he stood and offered you his hand. You smiled again and took his hand, pulling your bag back over your shoulder as he led you outside to call a cab to the theatre. He let you slide in first and slid in beside you giving the address and glanced over at you, “Still hungry?”

You giggled and rested your head back against the seat looking at him, “Starving.” making his smile grow again, “Good. I always get a massive popcorn and at least two candies, it’ll be nice not to have someone glare at me for eating so much, what do you normally get.”

“My cousins and I used to get bags of skittles and dump them in with the popcorn, we’d each share buckets.”

His smile grew again, “We can share then.”

“I am warning you I might cry at the ending, it just gets to me.”

He smirked at you, “At least I won’t be the only one then.”

The taxi driver Gandalf rolling his eyes furiously as he listened to you two, mentally screaming “Just make a move already, Man!!!”

“Let’s go watch a blonde woman get dangled off the Empire State building.” making him laugh again.

You both got out of the cab after he paid, the theatre was only a few blocks from home, he bought the tickets and ordered the largest popcorn they had and four boxes of candies and two drinks, each carrying some and heading for your seats. He let you choose but with the theatre mostly full you chose the seats up in the back row. He noticed the goosebumps running down your neck and arms as you climbed the stairs, when you got to the seats he set his drink down and slid out of his jacket and slipped it over your shoulders before you sat down.

You turned and thanked him, he whispered “Not a problem.” as he sat down next to you. lifting the armrest between you back, biting open the bag of skittles and dumping them into the popcorn and resting it between you. Taking handfuls of the Popcorn and candy mix smiling as he enjoyed it. Part way through the movie he had noticed you wiggling your feet trying to keep them awake. He leaned closer and whispered into your ear, “Your feet hurt?”

You turned your head barely avoiding his lips as he watched yours, pressing your head close to his ear, “They’re falling asleep. I’m alright.” just before your body shivered making you let out a quiet chuckle.

He chuckled and switched the bucket to his right side and wrapped his hand under your legs and lifted then on top of his leg scooting closer to you as he wrapped his arm around you, rubbing his hand over your arm and put the popcorn on your lap before leaning in again, “Better?”

You nodded as you took another handful of popcorn, as he bit open another box of skittles and dumped it into the bucket before eating some more, feeling the heat coming off of his body. Thorin finished his drink halfway through the movie, so you offered him yours, making him smile as he took a sip, being careful not to drink all of your drink as well.

You took a bathroom break and found him waiting outside having gotten a refill for his drink after going to the bathroom as well, waiting to escort you back to your seats. He led you back and reclaimed his seat setting his drink down again as you sat down closer to him this time making his smile grow larger as he waited to wrap his arm around you after you propped your legs back up on his. He held you closely through the rest of the movie, unwilling to let you go after the movie but releasing you as the people next to him tried to pass the two of you to move his large legs out of the way, telling you to keep his coat until you got home when he noticed that it was raining now.

You shared a detailed debate over how you would each react about being put in charge of King Kong, both deciding to just stay on the island and keeping your own tree houses and rule by his side, keeping him and his giant ape relatives happy for the rest of your lives. Somehow from the short walk back home you were drenched.

He spend the elevator ride discussing the new Jurassic World Movie, which both of you had somehow fallen asleep watching when you were dragged to go see it. But he said he had a copy of it and offered you could come over and watch it if you wanted, mentioning that his nephews would probably jump in and join you watching it.

You agreed, knowing that if your cousins were home they could keep an eye on him and his nephews through the windows. He led you to the door of his apartment as you heard loud moaning coming from inside, making him groan loudly and press his head along the wall.

You giggle and whisper, “We can watch it at my place if you like?” He glanced at you and nodded his head after smiling at you, gently placing you behind the wall by the door and he slid through the door and shut it behind him. You heard his foot steps as he started shouting, “WHY ARE YOU IN THE LIVING ROOM!!! WHY ARE THE BLINDS OPEN!!!” as he ran to the window and shut the blinds.

Kill turns still thrusting on top of Tauriel who is giggling under him covering her chest, “Fili’s in the bedroom. You said not to go in yours.” He stormed into their room and opened the door to find Fili getting a blowjob from someone and letting out a grunt as he slammed the door. You fought back your laughter as you heard him open Dwalin’s door and letting out a shocked scream as his two dates were spanking him getting more than an eyeful of a side he never wanted to see of Dwalin, shouting into the apartment, “NO ONE GO IN MY ROOM!!!” as he went through his room grabbing a change of clothes then he stormed back to the dvd case, grabbed the dvd and went to the door turning back as Kili called out to him, “You can watch it here if you want.”

He turned back to his nephew, “I have company. None of you are meeting her without clothes.” as he opened the door and walked out finding you covering your mouth fighting back your laughter as Kili shouted again, “Oh come on I’m sure she’s not that shy.” making him grumble from the other side of the door. “Is it the one you mentioned, with the amazing legs?” he rolled his shoulders as he placed his hand on your back and started to lead you away from his apartment.

Still fighting your laughter as you led him to your door and unlocked it leading him inside, finally your laughter stopped as you slipped out of his coat, allowing him to admire you again as you hung it up by the door, and you told him where the bathroom was so he could change, telling him he could leave his shoes by the door. You changed into a tank top and your knee length sweats and quickly dried your hair before braiding it back. You went out to the Living room to see him in his jeans and a loose shirt, smiling at you as he ran his fingers through his hair pushing it out of his face. You turned on the tv and opened the DVD player for him to drop the disk into.

You let out a chuckle as your stomach growled again, turning to him, “You like Chinese food?”

He smiled at you, “Of course.” You both made a list of your order and you called it in, you poured both of you something to drink and sat down starting the movie and waiting for the food to arrive. You stopped it and pulled out some plates as he insisted on paying for the Chinese food as well, and spread it all out on the coffee table and sat on the ground next to it and helped yourselves to the large supply of food in front of you before climbing back up to the couch as he wrapped his arm around you again. After your movie finished you noticed a Twilight Zone marathon and both agreed to watch it both talking about your favorite episodes. Later as he went to the bathroom you grabbed a blanket for yourself, which he happily slid under wrapping his arm around you again as you smiled and snuggled closer to him. Over the next few hours you both fell asleep and had stretched out on the couch with him behind you with his arms wrapped around you tightly.

You woke the next morning to a flash in your face, opening your eyes and noticing Legolas snapping pictures of you on his phone and smiling as he ran away back to the kitchen.

You heard Eomer step out of the kitchen as Thorin woke up letting out a grumble as he pulled himself off of you and stretched out along the couch as you pulled out from under him as he grumbled, “Morning.”

All of your cousins poked their heads out of the kitchen, “MORNING!” making his eyes open wider was he lifted his head and looked up to the kitchen then to you wiping his face and curling around you again as if to hide behind you making you chuckle before Thranduil set a large plate of pancakes out on the table, “Breakfast is ready. Your snuggle buddy is welcome to join us.”

Bard, “Not that he needed an invitation, since he spent the night.”

He let go of you and stood next to you pushing back his hair as you both headed over to join the table.

Legolas dropped the omelets down on the table, “I know you from somewhere.”

Bard turned as he set the coffee pot down on the table and glanced up at Thorin who gave him a quick smile, “Hey, you're the naked man from across the courtyard.” making Thorin glance down at you to see you covering your face and he glanced over to see a clear shot into his apartment, even through the glare from the sun, trying his best to fight his blushing.

Legolas, “I knew, I knew you from somewhere.”

Eomer, “Knew you’d get him, Jaqi.” shooting you a wink as you took a drink of your orange juice.

Thranduil smirked at you, “So I take it the blind date went well?” glancing at Thorin as he took a seat and drank his juice.

You shook your head, “Not especially, he never showed.”

All of them stopped talking and their faces dropped as they looked at you, each of their eyes flashing a hint of anger deep within them.

Eomer, “So how did you end up waking up with your nudist snuggle buddy here?” pointing his fork at Thorin then stabbed another piece of sausage and ate it.

You, “Well my date never showed, then Thorin here was at the restaurant with the Gondorian Company trying to sell them on some ideas. He invited me over to join them when he spotted me. He took me to a movie after, then we came back here and ordered Chinese food and watched another movie and tv, we fell asleep.”

Bard leaned in and whispering to you, “Still?” Crossing two of his fingers as a hand signal for virgin that you had all come up with as you grew up not to embarrass you in public when they talked about your lack of dating experience. You nodded quickly and he patted you on the shoulder and whispered, “good Girl.”

Legolas added in a quiet, “Woof.” at his continued dislike of him using that phrase around you making the others chuckle.

Thranduil, “So you swoop in and save the day? Nice plan.”

Thorin, “She looked far too gorgeous to be left there alone.”

Eomer gave you a glance, “Which dress?”

You, “The dark green one.”

Legolas pointed his fork at you, “I knew it was lucky, it just took time to get around to it.”

Bard, “Honestly she could wear a trash bag and still be too gorgeous to be left alone. If I had her body I would never wear clothes.” as he flexed his arms while Thranduil and Eomer pulled his arms back down.

Thranduil, “You are naked enough.”

Eomer, “And your plans from here?” looking straight at Thorin who glanced at you and swallowed his food he was chewing before looking back to Eomer.

Thorin, “I was hoping for a second date, but I haven’t exactly gotten that far yet.”

Making your cousins smile as they glanced at you as Thorin turned to you and smiled before he went back to eating. Bard, “So, Jaqi, how does he rate as a snuggler.” You quickly took a large bite of omelette and then shove in another forkful making sure you couldn’t answer him, “Oh come on, you can’t keep it a secret forever. If I had snuggled with him you’d all know the details.”

You smiled as you heard Thorin fighting back his laughter as Thranduil answered back, “Yes and you’d still be naked when you went through each of our rooms sparing us no details.”

Legolas, “Let her snuggle in peace.”

Eomer, “Im sure she’ll tell us later. So Mr. Snuggler, Any family?”

They went on to grill Thorin about his family and asking questions about how often you two worked together, and any other question you could think of as you sat there helpless to defend him. leaning back with your hands on your legs as he slid his left hand under the table and grabbed your hand gently to let you know he was ok with it shooting you occasional smiles and glances as the questioning continued.

They eventually all had to go to work, leaving you two alone again. You went to clean up the dishes which he joined you getting it done quickly. Quietly starting to giggle as you relaxed from his questioning, he joined you laughing then told you, “You weren’t joking about them grouping around you.”

“No I wasn’t. Honestly I’m sure that they went easy on you, Eomer and Legolas are cops, Thranduil and Bard work in the D.A’s office.”

“I am lucky to be breathing then.” chuckling again as he put the last of the dishes on the drying rack and dried off his hands passing you the towel.

You went back into the living room and stretched out on the couch, Thorin slid behind you and wrapped his arm around you again as he covered you both again. You ran your finger over his arm, “You still want that second date?”

You felt his face curl into a large smile, “Yes. If you’d like to.”

You turn over on your back as he props himself up on his elbow, “I’d like that.”

His eyes sparkled at you brightly and he smiled wider as he grabbed your hand and kissed you knuckles, “I’m looking forward to it.” You leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek and he rolled you back on your side and snuggled against you again as you turned back on the twilight zone marathon.

A few hours later after you had reheated the Chinese food and finished it, when you cleaned up Thorin spotted his nephews in their apartment waving their arms, he let out a grumble and checked his phone seeing the 45 texts he had missed from them, you chuckled as you told him, “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

He smiled and glanced at you, “I was enjoying the quiet without them.” letting out another grumble, “But I should head back anyway.” he collected his clothes and shoes and walked over to you as you waited to open the door and kissed you on the cheek smiling at you again. “I’ll text you later. If they won’t leave me alone I might just sneak back here for a quiet place to sleep.” winking at you as he stepped through your door glancing back at you again as you waved, then shut and locked the door. A few moments later there was a knock on the door, you glanced through the peephole to see him standing at the door, opening it again to see him smiling back at you, “I have no idea what to say…” leaning against the doorway. “Just wanted another moment before I have to see them.”

You giggled and kissed his cheek again as his Nephews were heard roaming through the hall calling his name, he quickly picked you up and pulled you back inside the apartment quietly shutting the door and locking it behind you, whispering, “I’ll go back later.” kissing your cheek before he went to shut the blinds spotting Dwalin who was motioning for him to come home, holding a finger up to his mouth as he shut the blinds, earning a large glare before he was cut from view. His mind finally snapping back to an old question, “So how long have you been able to see me naked in the mornings?”

You smirked, “Since the first day you moved in.”

Making his face turn bright pink, “I thought the glare blocked me out from view.”

“How long have you admired my legs?” as you sat back down on the couch, he walked over and sat down next to you placing your legs over his lap, “Since the first day, when I spotted you in that yellow sundress.” kissing you on the forehead again.


End file.
